No cherubs. No doilies. No crap.

Archive for the tag “Ur-Grammar Nazi”

Usually, the Grammar Nazi logs onto Facebook with a severe case of apprehension. She knows there will be capitalization issues and misspellings galore. She steels herself against posts that show a complete lack of comprehension on the concept of sentences.

Even prepared, it is always a traumatic experience.

For everyone on Facebook who now wonders if this is about them—please don’t worry. Unless you have to write in a professional capacity (or are working toward that goal) there’s no logical reason grammar and spelling errors in a Facebook post should produce stroke-like side effects in the Grammar Nazi. Neither she, nor her grammar is perfect, and Facebook amounts to casual speech—like typing in gchat or an email. It doesn’t matter.

But she still gets worked up!

It’s a problem. A failing, even. So, keep that in mind when she shares this one.

The Ur-Grammar Nazi posted the following comic on the Grammar Nazi’s wall (click on the image to visit what I think is the original context):

Only a few days later, the following post appeared on the Grammar Nazi’s news feed:

its to cold and windy todo anything got along day tomorrow

And the Grammar Nazi laughed! Actually laughed instead of choking, or developing a nosebleed or something to that effect.

I have many, many miles to go before my new Honda Fit needs an oil change, but like any overprotective new parent I’m over-thinking how to take care of it.

I was raised to trust dealership service departments about as far as I can throw them, but in reading over my manual and doing some further reading online, I’m coming to think that I may need to take it to the dealership for oil changes and whatnot (partially due to the very specialized maintenance minder installed on the vehicle).

So, I’m reading consumer reviews for local dealerships. Some of these review sites allow the dealer to post a response to a customer’s comment, and what do you know, our favorite dealership (yes, the same one as last time) stopped the Grammar Nazi in her tracks. The bolding is mine:

Dear [redacted], You said it, “repeat business and referrals say volumes about satisfaction.” Building customers for life is what we strive to do here at [redacted] Honda. You are the epidamy of that goal and we look forward to doing business with you for years to come. [redacted], Customer Relations Manager

First thought: Is this person talking about skin?
Second thought: Oh, epitome.
Third thought: Ahahahahahaha [cough] haha [cough] ahem.

Well…I guess that’s how most people say “epitome”. And, in the interest of full disclosure, the Grammar Nazi’s mother (hereinafter referred to as the Ur-Grammar Nazi) once had a good chuckle at the expense of her bookworm daughter over this very word. I had only ever read the word, knew what it meant, and pronounced it “EP-eh-tome.”

On the plus side, this rep used decent punctuation and capitalization with no typos, so I won’t dismiss her service department because she had the guts to use a good word (even if she made it sound like a skin condition). This dealer seems to have generally high marks, and their job is to accurately reset my complicated maintenance computer, not win spelling bees.